A payment transaction involving a customer of a financial institution and a recipient (e.g., an individual or a vendor of goods or services) can be completed with a customer's paper check. The customer's paper check is a hard copy instrument ordering the financial institution to pay a defined sum from the customer's account to the recipient. Printing and issuing new paper checks, along with processing, executing, and disposing of used paper checks may in the aggregate present a significant cost burden to the financial institution. Further, issuing paper checkbooks, hand drafting paper checks, and processing hand drafted paper checks may in the aggregate entail a significant burden on customers and financial institutions.
Electronic transaction systems provide an alternative payment method that may be more convenient for customers and/or less expensive for financial institutions. At a high level, electronic transaction systems allow a financial institution customer to identify a recipient, define a sum of funds, and authorize a transfer of the sum of funds to the recipient's account. Sometimes electronic transaction systems allow for transactions to occur in the absence of hard copy financial instruments altogether.